The franchise-royalty calculator · figures dated July 29, 2026
How much will a franchise take from you over 10 years?
$0
That’s the ongoing take the heaviest franchise structure in this set collects over 10 years at $600,000/yr in gross — before you keep a dollar of profit, on a brand you never own. Move the slider and watch it change.
That take drips out at $0/day · $0/week · $0/month. Since you opened this page: $0.00 — and the meter never stops for a slow day. That is the point of a percentage of gross.
The royalty is not a fee. It is a partner who takes a cut of every dollar you bring in, forever, and owns the brand you built. Enter a hypothetical annual gross and a time horizon; this tool totals the ongoing payments each published fee structure collects — side by side with a 0%-royalty license. Figures are dated from 2025 disclosure materials as digested by franchise-analytics services; each company’s current FDD controls. Your inputs are hypothetical; results are arithmetic on those inputs, not projections or predictions of any business result.
Fee structure (dated — current FDD controls)
Ongoing %
Fixed obligations
Total paid over 10 yrs
Structures modeled: royalty % of gross + brand/ad-fund % of gross + fixed monthly obligations (minimums applied when the percentage royalty falls below them; mandated local-marketing obligations included where disclosed because they are compulsory spend). The 0%-royalty license row models a structure with no percentage-of-gross royalty and no mandated monthly obligations; one-time/entry fees are excluded from every row — this table isolates the ongoing take.
What to do with this number
Take the total for any system you are weighing and ask the franchisor to confirm or correct it against the current FDD, in writing. Then ask the year-five question: at that point, who owns the brand the fees built — you, or them?
Where we stand — disclosedThis site is published by Atlas Metabolic, which offers a 0%-royalty license model in this category (partner owns their own brand; final agreements control). We think the honest comparison — documents, fees, ownership at exit — favors that structure, and you should verify that skepticism-first: see how Atlas structures it, and hold us to the same diligence standard this site applies to everyone else.
Questions buyers ask
What is a typical medical weight-loss or wellness franchise royalty?
Among the major clinic franchises, published ongoing royalties run from about 6% of gross to 10% of gross, and several add a 1–2% brand or ad fund and a mandated monthly local-marketing spend on top. Figures are dated from 2025 disclosure materials; each company’s current FDD controls.
Do franchise royalties come out of gross or net revenue?
Almost always gross. That is the detail that stings: you pay the percentage on every dollar of revenue, before rent, staff, product, or your own pay — in your worst months and your best. A royalty on gross is a partner who takes their cut first.
What is a brand fund or ad fund fee?
An additional percentage of gross (commonly 1–2%) many franchisors collect on top of the royalty, pooled for system-wide marketing. Some systems also require a separate minimum monthly local-marketing spend that you pay directly. Both are ongoing costs that never appear in the headline ‘royalty’ number.
How much do franchise fees add up to over 10 years?
Run your own number in the calculator above. At a hypothetical $600,000 a year in gross, the heaviest published structure in this set totals well over a million dollars in ongoing payments across ten years — before the operator keeps a dollar of profit, on a brand they never own.
Is a 0%-royalty license actually better than a franchise?
It depends entirely on the written terms — a low royalty with strong support can beat a 0% deal with hidden costs. The point of this tool is to make you do the ten-year math on every offer, including a 0%-royalty license like the one Atlas Metabolic publishes, so you compare structures instead of entry fees. Final terms are always controlled by the actual agreement.
How is Atlas Metabolic different from a franchise?
Atlas Metabolic (the publisher of this tool) offers a license with no percentage-of-gross royalty under which the operator owns their own brand; final terms are controlled by a written agreement, and Atlas makes no earnings or income-performance representations. Read every comparison here knowing we are an interested party — and hold our offer to the same ten-year math.
Fee-structure sources (2025 disclosure-year digests via sharpsheets.io, franchisechatter.com, franchisepayback.com, franchisesidekick.com; retrieved July 29, 2026)